Garth Rickards will make his USF2000 debut with JDC MotorSports at the Honda Indy Toronto in July

Indianapolis, Indiana - Garth Rickards, a 21-year-old from Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, has turned a lot of heads during his rookie season in F1600. After six races he leads the championship standings thanks to strong qualifying runs and consistent top-five finishes, and he will head to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course July 4th weekend with Team Pelfrey looking to secure his first win of the season in the series.

One of the heads that Rickards has turned belongs to USF2000 team owner John Church, owner of JDC MotorSports. Church has been so impressed by what he has seen out of the Pennsylvania driver this season that he has decided to run Rickards on the streets of Toronto in the USF2000 events scheduled for July 19th and 20th.

“I'm very excited to have Garth join the team for Toronto,” said Church. “He's displayed incredible speed and consistency during his rookie F1600 season, and I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do in our USF2000 car.”

“I am very excited to be joining JDC MotorSports for the USF2000 races in Toronto,” said driver Rickards. “A couple of years ago, I was sitting in the stands dreaming of what it would be like to be a part of the Mazda Road to Indy. Now it's becoming a reality. I feel this is an important stepping stone in my career and I am ready to gain experience for 2015.”

Rickards is part of the CoForce International Development Program and the opportunity for Rickards to test the USF2000 waters does not come a surprise to CoForce principals Anders Krohn and Jonny Baker.

“In the short amount of time that we've been working with Garth, the amount of development we have seen from him as a driver is quite simply phenomenal,” said Baker. “We worked hard during the off-season, and he has taken that momentum into his 2014 F1600 campaign where he has been a championship contender since race one. The USF2000 event at Toronto is a natural step for Garth to take as he looks to gain experience ahead of much anticipated graduation to the Mazda Road to Indy in 2015.”

“This will be the first of many big accomplishments for Garth,” commented Krohn. “From the time he joined us in 2013, we knew we were working with a motivated, hungry young driver. This is a great opportunity for him.”

While Rickards looks forward to his chance to race with JDC MotorSports in Toronto, he'll continue to set his sights on continuing his F1600 championship run with Team Pelfrey.

“Obviously my main focus is still on my F1600 campaign and maintaining my championship lead. Team Pelfrey is giving me everything I need to get the job done,” said Rickards. “But it will be great getting more seat time and having a chance to focus on driving a car with downforce and higher cornering speeds. JDC MotorSports is a very strong team with proven success and I'm thrilled to build a relationship with them. I think we will have a very strong weekend together in Toronto. I can't thank all of my partners enough for helping to make this possible. Anders Krohn and Jonny Baker have had a huge influence on me, both on and off the track, and CoForce has given me the tools to be successful. My dad and my sponsor Snap21 have been amazing in helping me pursue my dream.”

Rickards tested for his Toronto USF2000 outing with JDC Motorsport on June 20 and will now turn his attention towards preparations for his F1600 race weekend at Mid-Ohio.